Emerald Isle joins support of school resource officer at area elementary school

JANNETTE PIPPIN - Daily News Staff

Thursday

Feb 14, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Parents of students at a Carteret County elementary school continue to garner support for a school resource officer, but how to fund it or any other new SRO position in the county remains up for discussion.

EMERALD ISLE — Parents of students at a Carteret County elementary school continue to garner support for a school resource officer, but how to fund it or any other new SRO position in the county remains up for discussion.

Town Commissioners in Emerald Isle joined other western Carteret County towns in their support of putting a school resource officer at White Oak Elementary School in Cape Carteret.

The town board voted unanimously Tuesday night to send a letter of support to the Carteret County Board of Education, with copies to the county Board of Commissioners and the sheriff’s office.

Parents and representatives of the school initially appeared before the Cape Carteret Board of Commissioners to request the return of an SRO at the school following the mass shooting in December at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn.

A Cape Carteret police officer, whose salary was primarily funded by the town, previously served as SRO but due to ongoing staffing issues the town hasn’t been able to keep an officer at the school this year.

Cape Carteret commissioners adopted a resolution in January asking that Carteret County put school resource officers in all elementary and primary schools in the county. The town also suggested a shared-funding plan among the western towns in the school’s district for paying for an SRO at White Oak Elementary.

Related discussions have also taken place in Newport, where the town police department has expressed concerns about an increased number of calls to Newport Middle School since the loss of a SRO there several years ago.

Emerald Isle commissioners agreed to offer support at this time but hasn’t committed any money. The Emerald Isle Police Department already conducts the D.A.R.E. program at While Oak Elementary at a cost of about $3,000 to $4,000 a year.

Mayor Art Schools said they want to wait and see what plans may be developed by the county or the school board before considering funding for an SRO.

“We hope there can be a workable solution for everyone,” Schools said after the meeting.

The SRO issue hasn’t appeared formally on the agendas of either the Board of Education or Board of Commissioners, but it appears it will be a topic of discussion during budget deliberations.

Board of Education Chairman Al Hill said the school system is working on its recommended budget for 2013-2014 to present to the county.

“I think we’ll see discussions come up in the operations budget workshop (in March),” he said.

As budget deliberations evolve those discussions could also include county and municipal governments.

Hill said dialogue about safety and security in the schools overall began immediately after the Sandy Hook tragedy and has been ongoing.

“All of this is being discussed; we’re on a positive track,” he said.

Carteret County has state-funded SROs in all of its high schools.

The only formal request to the county for additional SROs has come through the Town of Cape Carteret. Newport officials met with county and school officials about their concerns but did not make a formal request.